New Japan Pro Wrestling's biggest event of the year is approaching as fans around the world eagerly anticipating Wrestle Kingdom 20, which will take place on January 4, 2026. The event will be one of the most historic events in NJPW's recent history, and in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer broke down the hype around the show, as well detailing how ticket sales have gone so far.
Meltzer noted that after the first day of sales, Wrestle Kingdom 20 had over 20,000 tickets sold, making it the largest first day ticket sales for any NJPW show at the Tokyo Dome since the 1990s when wrestling was more popular in Japan. Ringside seats had already been sold for $750 per ticket in the days leading up to the general sale beginning, and most of those tickets went to foreigners who are making the trip to Tokyo from overseas. Meltzer explained that, while this is a good start for NJPW, the strong start to ticket sales isn't because the company is particularly hot, if anything it has actually struggled ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of one of the main draws of the show being Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match.
Tanahashi appeared at a public talk session on September 30 to promote the Wrestle Kingdom 20 tickets going on sale, where he confirmed that his retirement match will be a singles match, he will wear special ring gear for one night only, and that he wants his final opponent to be someone who could bring his career full circle. With that in mind, Meltzer went through the names who could potentially fit that role. Katsuyori Shibata is out as he is outright banned from working an official match for NJPW, Tetsuya Naito might not be healthy enough to make the show following his NJPW departure earlier this year, and Hirooki Goto has already wrestled Tanahashi over the past year so he would be ruled out for the most part as well.
This then brings up the question of Tanahashi's opponent being one of his main rivals from the past. Kenny Omega is a name that has been brought up as his last match before leaving NJPW in 2019 to join AEW was against Tanahashi, and he teased teaming with "The Ace"back in 2024. WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura has also been mentioned as that will be a huge match, but Meltzer believes that would be too difficult due to NJPW's partnership with AEW. That then leaves Kazuchika Okada, arguably Tanahashi's greatest rival, who Meltzer believes would be the biggest possible opponent from both a storyline and drawing standpoint.
Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match isn't the only major draw for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 is the debut of former judo star Aaron Wolf, who will become the first-ever Japanese Olympic gold medalist to become a professional wrestler after winning gold in the 2021 games in Tokyo.
Meltzer wrote that there are a lot of people curious to see how Wolf gets on as he is a legitimate household name in Japan, meaning that Wrestle Kingdom 20 will have the most mainstream eyes on it in Japan. Wolf is a genuine celebrity in Japan, has regularly appeared on TV over the past few years, and is such a big name that he is the main reason why TV Asahi are televising NJPW's annual January 4 event from the Tokyo Dome for the first time in over 20 years. Meltzer stated that Wolf's large social media presence, his charismatic personality, and his sense of humor have been major reasons why he has had national endorsement campaigns with brands like Kirin beer and Fujifilm, and if WrestleKingdom 20 is a huge success, Wolf will be seen as one of the main reasons.
The man himself opened up at the Wrestle Kingdom 20 public talk session about how he has adapted to pro wrestling training and how he is feeling the strain. Wolf stated that his calves are sore from training so hard, and despite the major difference in stamina he needs to perform in wrestling over judo, he is excited to make his debut, and even has a special entrance planned for the show that will remain a secret.
